Announcements

welcome from Dr. Toni Ramirez

Hello Project Vida, 

I am Dr. Toni Ramirez (she/ella), a new provider on the team, and would like to share a little bit about me and the gender-affirming services available. I moved back to El Paso a few years ago after training on the East and West Coast and am super excited to be back home (I grew up in Socorro and Fabens). I am part of the queer community and have been providing Gender Affirming Health Care to transgender, non-binary, and gender-diverse folks for about 10 years. It is a huge passion of mine as a community member acknowledging that this population faces immense health disparities that are rooted in discrimination. Further, they have been a huge target for legislation that restricts their medically necessary care, and overall attempt to deny their existence despite gender diversity being a part of our history and culture. There are a few things in medicine that can be life-changing for individuals and this is one of them.

My vision for this care at Project Vida includes you! The intent is to provide training for staff at all sites to ensure that we are providing the best care that we can. In the meantime, please refer folks to me or reach out to me if you have questions or want to improve your care before training comes to you. Also, below is a list of different websites that are wonderful places to start learning more.

I can see gender-diverse folks of all ages, however, per Texas law, I cannot prescribe hormones or hormone blockers to those under 18. Because of this restrictive and harmful law, it is even more important that youth are able to see a provider who can support them throughout this time. You can refer youth and adults to me via telephone encounter in ECW. If you know their chosen name and pronouns, please add that to the telephone counter so we are aware when reaching out. Patients do not need a formal referral or any pre-requisite labs in order to see me. Medication costs should not be a barrier as they are often fairly affordable and we have some funding that can help pay for gender-affirming meds. I am currently at the Naftgzer Clinic but will soon be moving to the new Rosario Fernandez Clinic site!

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me via ECW, email, or even a phone call. I look forward to meeting many of you over the next couple of months!

Dr. Toni (she/ella)

Resources:

• Gender Spectrum

• Fenway Health Education

• Gender Diversity